And despite me knowing all this, I can’t fight the urge to toy with her.
I step even closer to her back and place my hands on her hips, twisting her body as she throws another punch. She jumps and stumbles into me, her head tipping back against my bare chest. “Stop swinging with your arms and swing with your whole body,” I say, bending my head so I’m close to her ear. She sucks in a breath when my hand sweeps over her abdomen, the whisper of my fingers dancing along her thin tank. “Engage your core, Gray.”
Her chest heaves. Then she takes a step forward, the heat of her body leaving mine. My hands are still planted on her hips when she turns her head to shoot me an irritated look.
She knows I’m right. And she hates it.
She got lazy and didn’t realize until now, too focused and frustrated to notice. The thought has me smiling down at her as she huffs, blowing a strand of hair out of her eyes before turning back towards the tree.
“Now, throw a punch,” I murmur, leaning in to add, “Correctly.”
Shockingly, she doesn’t argue, likely realizing it won’t do her any good. She squares her shoulders and bounces on the balls of her feet. Then she jabs, her fist flying towards the mat as I twist her hips in time with the punch. There’s far more momentum behind it, and I can see how much stronger she’s gotten in her short time here with consistent meals and training. When her knuckles sink into the pad, the lean muscles in her back and arms are evident.
“Much better,” I say dully, despite being impressed. After a moment that was most definitely too long, I finally drop my hands from her hips. “Now, do it on your own. Just to make sure you were paying attention.”
She stills, facing the tree.
And then there’s a flash of silver hair as she swivels around, throwing a beautiful jab at my face.
Chapter Seventeen
Kai
I almost don’t dodge in time. Only years of fighting allow my reflexes to react so quickly.
“How was that?” she says sweetly, flashing that startling smile at me.
I huff out a laugh. “What if I didn’t duck, Gray?”
“I knew you’d duck, Azer.” She’s close to my face now, a wicked smile curving her lips when she repeats the exact phrase I told her after throwing a knife in her direction.
“Looks like someone is itching for a fight.” My eyes flick up her body, taking my time. Taking in her stance on the balls of her feet, her slightly raised hands, and every stitch of clothing clinging to her body in between.
“I’ve just been waiting for an excuse to punch that smirk off your face.” She swings at me again, knowing I’ll duck under it. She’s toying with me.
“Wouldn’t be the first time someone said that to me,” I say as we circle each other. We’ve backed into a small opening between the targets and the weapons rack opposite them. I show her my palms, surrendering before the fight has even begun. “You don’t really want to do this and neither do I. Especially because I wouldn’t want to mess up that pretty face of yours, darling.”
She all but rolls her eyes at me. “That’s funny because I won’t hesitate to mess up your pretty face.”
I smirk. “I knew you thought I was pretty.”
At that, she throws another punch at my face that I easily evade. We continue circling each other, slowly. Damp hair clings to my forehead and I comb my fingers through it, pushing it off my sticky skin.
“You do know that I have eight powers at my disposal right now, and any one of them could drop you.” I grin as I say it, watching as her eyes narrow.
“I don’t want to fight your power—I want to fight you. Just you.” Her piercing gaze never leaves mine as she says it, even as the other Elites turn their attention towards us, finding this fight far more interesting than their training.
“So, you just want me? No powers?”
“Yes. I just want you,” she breathes, annoyed with me.
My mouth twists into a crooked grin. “I knew you wanted me, Gray.”
And with that little comment, a high kick comes flying towards my face.
I block it with my hands and push her leg down, once again surprised by her strength. Before I can take another breath, a beautiful jab heads for my face, this one intended to meet its mark, hard.
I duck under it before grabbing her outstretched wrist and pulling her back against my chest as I twist her arm under her shoulder blade. “You’re going to have to do better than that, Gray,” I whisper against her ear, smiling.
She grunts and drives the elbow of her free arm into my stomach. The air whooshes out of my lungs, and she takes advantage of it. Pivoting, she swings her elbow high at my face, making my head snap to the side when it connects with my jaw. My grip on her arm loosens, and she spins out of my hold before throwing a right cross at the exact same spot on my jaw.
Damn.
I keep my head turned to the side, my tongue roaming over the inside of my cheek as my mouth begins to fill with blood. And then my gaze slowly slides to her. She’s on the balls of her feet, hands still raised in a fighting stance as she stares at me. And then she smiles, momentarily distracting me.
I laugh, deep and quiet before spitting blood onto the ground. “Much better, Gray.” I smile as I circle her, my fists instinctively raising. “I might actually need to fight back.”
Her smile slips before she’s suddenly dropping to the ground and sweeping her leg in a wide arc, intending to knock me to the dirt. I jump over it swiftly but she’s back on her feet in a split second, throwing a combination of punches. She peppers me with a series of uppercuts, jabs, and hooks, but I stay on defense, blocking her fists. With her quick movements, she finally gets in a sharp blow to my stomach, stealing my breath away.
Fine. If she wants me to fight, I’ll fight.
I won’t hurt her. Badly. In fact, she’s quite skilled, and despite my mocking, she is a fine fighter. But with my now bruising jaw and stomach, I’m done playing games.
She ducks before my fist meets the air where her head was. Then she kicks out a leg, swinging it towards my ribs. I grab her ankle right before it connects with my side and yank her forward. She stumbles towards me, and I grip her thigh against my side with one hand, while the other lands a blow to her cheekbone. It was a softer hit, but still hard enough to make her head snap to the side.
I let go of her leg at the same moment I wrap my foot behind her ankle still planted on the ground, giving it a good tug. She falls, hard. Violent coughs shake her body as soon as her back hits the dirt as she tries to suck air back into her lungs.
I hover over her with a smile, assuming the match is over.
Wrong.
She kicks me in the groin. Hard.
I double over, huffing out a pained laugh. “Cheap shot, darling.”